Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects more than 17 million Americans. Asthma is characterized by inflammation of the airways with intermittent bronchospasm, which is caused by the inflammation of the muscles surrounding the air passageways. Breathing may be so labored that an asthma attack becomes life-threatening. Asthma is a chronic disease and it requires continuous management and appropriate treatment.
Symptoms of asthma include cough, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and wheezing. Asthma can be triggered by a variety of irritations, such as allergens, tobacco smoke, strong odors, respiratory infections, weather changes, viral or sinus infections, exercise, stress, reflux disease (Stomach acid flowing back up the esophagus, or food pipe), medications, foods, and emotional anxiety.
Different classifications of asthma include: allergic asthma, caused by airway inflammation when exposed to allergens; exercised-induced asthma, where the airways narrow when triggered by vigorous activity; cough-variant asthma, a chronic, persistent cough without shortness of breath; and occupational asthma, which is related to working in a particular occupational environment.
Management of asthma involves several approaches, including preventing chronic and troublesome symptoms; maintaining “normal” breathing; maintain normal activity levels, including exercise; preventing recurrent asthma flare-ups, and minimize the need for emergency room visits or hospitalizations, and providing optimal medication therapy with no or minimal adverse effects. Asthma management includes using proper medications, or combinations of medications to prevent and control asthma symptoms and to reduce airway inflammation. Asthma medications are thus categorized into two general classes, quick-relief and long-term control medications. Quick-relief medications that are used to provide temporary relief of symptoms include bronchodilators, such as beta-agonists and anticholinergics, and corticosteroids. Long-term control medications are taken daily to control the airway inflammation in persistent asthma. This class includes inhaled corticosteroids to inhibit or prevent inflammation.
Thus, there is a need for additional treatment options in managing asthma and airway hyper-responsiveness. The present invention provides the use of a cytokine to aid in management of this disease.